Description:
This near-complete sponge known as Paraleptomitella dictyodroma
comes from the Chengjiang Biota. The diversity of soft-tissue fossils
is astonishing:
algae, medusiforms, sponges, priapulids, annelid like worms, echinoderms,
arthropods (including trilobites), hemichordates, chordates, and
the first agnathan fish make up just a small fraction of the total.
Numerous problematic forms are known as well, some of which may
have represented failed attempts at diversity that did not persist
to the present day.

The
species grew to a maximum known height of 10 cm and width of 12
mm, so this one is a typical example. The narrow base of the sponge
is indicative of its presumed attachment to the sea floor. This
demosponge is similar to Leptomitella (hence the genus name), and
is known only from the Chengjiang Biota.